Mental Health

Can a sexual assault increase your risk of high blood pressure, even years later? Recent research suggests yes.

Sexual Assault And Harassment May Have Lasting Health Repercussions For Women

3:01pm October 03, 2018

by Mara Gordon

In a small study of middle-aged women, a history of sexual assault and workplace harassment was linked to health problems like hypertension, sleeplessness and depression.

People pray at a makeshift memorial for victims of the Oct. 1 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas.

A Survivor Helps Other Survivors Process The Horrors Of The Las Vegas Mass Shooting

7:29pm October 01, 2018

by Eric Westervelt

Clinical psychologist Shiva Ghaed thought she understood the long-term impacts of trauma. But after surviving the Las Vegas shooting, she didn't realize what it would do to her.

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Christine Blasey Ford is sworn in ahead of testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.

How Trauma Affects Memory: Scientists Weigh In On The Kavanaugh Hearing

5:01pm September 28, 2018

by Rhitu Chatterjee

Christine Blasey Ford presented her allegations against Brett Kavanaugh Thursday. He denied them. But how can either of them remember? Here's what science says about memory and trauma — and alcohol.

The Effects Of Sexual Assault On The Brain

9:48am September 28, 2018

NPR's Rachel Martin talks with Jim Hopper, a teaching associate at Harvard Medical School, about sexual assault and its effects on the brain.

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The contents of the naloxone kit inside an AED box located in the VA West Roxbury cafeteria.

VA Adding Opioid Antidote To Defibrillator Cabinets For Quicker Overdose Response

7:44am September 27, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

The overdose antidote naloxone could soon be available in more public places. The Veterans Administration is adding it to its automated defibrillator cabinets. Other institutions are following suit.

A wildfire raged near the Moria refugee camp, pictured here, on Greece's Lesbos Island. The camp is home to an estimated 9,000 migrants and refugees.

World News

Wildfire Breaks Out Near Camp In Greece, Home To Thousands Of Refugees

4:31pm September 23, 2018

by Shannon Van Sant

A plume of smoke was visible not far from the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. The number of migrants and refugees arriving in Greece by sea has soared this year.

Walter Mischel, a psychologist who devised the marshmallow test, explained what it really means.

Remembrance For Walter Mischel, Psychologist Who Devised The Marshmallow Test

11:44am September 21, 2018

by Julie Carli

Walter Mischel had an idea that became a pop culture touchstone. He wanted to see if preschoolers seated in front of a marshmallow could delay their gratification. What did the experiment really mean?

"If you do say, 'Yes, my child has seen a counselor or a therapist or a psychologist,' what does the school then do with that?" asks Laura Goodhue, who has a 9-year-old son on the autism spectrum and a 10-year-old son who has seen a psychologist.

Parents Are Leery Of Schools Requiring 'Mental Health' Disclosures By Students

8:45am September 21, 2018

by Julio Ochoa

Florida school districts now have to ask if a new student has ever been referred for mental health services. It's a legislative attempt to help troubled kids. Will it work, or increase stigma instead?

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The fix was in for this rhesus macaque drinking juice on the Ganges River in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India. No gambling was required to get the reward.

In Lab Turned Casino, Gambling Monkeys Help Scientists Find Risk-Taking Brain Area

6:10pm September 20, 2018

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have identified a brain region in monkeys that influences their desire to take big risks. When this area is inactivated, the monkeys tend to hedge their bets.

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Friend or foe? A California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) gives observers the eye at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.

Octopuses Get Strangely Cuddly On The Mood Drug Ecstasy

1:08pm September 20, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The drug makes the usually antisocial creatures much more interested in friendly contact with other octopuses. It's one more sign that the chemistry of social behavior has deep evolutionary roots.